Joseph Delaney – författare

Warning: Not to be listened to after dark

Capturing witches, Binding boggarts, Driving away ghosts

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried -- some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He''s the last hope; the last apprentice. Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook''s warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?

Performed by Christopher Evan Welch

Now it''s the dark''s turn to be afraid

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now there''s some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers. The Bane!

As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn''t their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them—or worse.

Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor''s clutches?

It''s going to be a long, hard, cruel winter And there couldn''t be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches, binds boggarts, and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn''t know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it''s time to leave Chipenden and travel to Anglezarke, his winter house. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that there are menacing creatures starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby.

Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are fully revealed?

""I''ve already drunk my fill of blood, so live a little longer. Breathe fora while and watch what''s about to unfold.""

Thomas Ward has spent two years as the Spook''s apprentice. He''s faced unimaginable peril, and survived. But a new danger has emerged: an ancient water witch, Bloodeye, is roaming the County intent on destroying everything in her path. To strengthen his skills, Tom is sent to the far north to train with the demanding Bill Arkwright. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh, and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. Will Tom''s new bag of tricks be enough to overcome a critical mistake that leaves him confronting Bloodeye on his own?

The Last Apprentice series follows the terrifying adventures of the Spook''s apprentice, Thomas Ward. But Tom''s is only one story. There are others. . . .

The Spook himself was once an apprentice. How did he begin his training?

And what of Alice, the young witch who is Tom''s closest ally? How did she overcome her dark past?

What did the witch assassin Grimalkin do to become the most deadly and feared witch in the county?

And, collected in a gallery of horrors, discover the rest of the county''s menacing villains and relive the vicious battles waged against them.

Enter a land where creatures of the dark creep out of the shadows. Do you dare?

""You can''t make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being drawn toward the dark.""

As the Spook''s apprentice, Thomas Ward''s first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom''s mother has mustered a powerful army—including Tom''s friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin—to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark?

Things can never be the same again.

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, have returned to the county after a long journey and a hard battle. But their troubles are far from over. Their home has been over-run by enemy soldiers. The Spook''s house is in ruins, the boggart protecting it has fled, and the malicious witches imprisoned in the gardens have escaped.

Tom, Alice, and the Spook must flee, too, across the ocean to the island of Mona. And it''s on Mona that this small band fighting against the dark will face an old enemy grown terrifyingly powerful. Will they be able to vanquish an evil that crawls beneath the ground itself? At what cost?

Will Tom and the Spook ever be able to return home?

A dangerous few months lie ahead—ones which some of us will be hard-pressed to survive.

Thomas Ward has served as the Spook''s apprentice for three years. He has battled boggarts, witches, demons, and even the devil himself. Tom has enemies: The Fiend stalks him, waiting for a moment of weakness. The terrifying Morrigan, goddess of witches, warned him never to step foot on her homeland, Ireland.

But now war has consumed their own country, and Tom, his friend Alice, and the Spook must flee to Ireland. The dark rages strongly there. No one can be trusted. Can Tom defeat the creatures that hunt him most fiercely?

The tenth book in the internationally best-selling fantasy adventure series that inspired the forthcoming major motion picture Seventh Son. Back at home, but in no less danger, Tom will face a tragic love story, an unforgivable sacrifice, and a new creature of the dark that terrorizes a village with its thirst for blood.

Tom Ward, the Spook's apprentice, and his master have bound the Fiend at last. But now Tom must use his powers as the seventh son of a seventh son to put an end to the source of evil once and for all. When the Spook is captured by bloodthirsty creatures of the dark, Tom must vanquish a god, avenge his master, and protect the person he loves most—Alice—from himself. The Last Apprentice series is soon to be a major motion picture, Seventh Son, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou and Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin. It's a suspenseful thrill-ride that's "spine-tingling" (Publishers Weekly) and "anything but tame" (Horn Book). But don't read it after dark!

A dangerous few months lie ahead—ones which some of us will be hard-pressed to survive.

Thomas Ward has served as the Spook''s apprentice for three years. He has battled boggarts, witches, demons, and even the devil himself. Tom has enemies: The Fiend stalks him, waiting for a moment of weakness. The terrifying Morrigan, goddess of witches, warned him never to step foot on her homeland, Ireland.

But now war has consumed their own country, and Tom, his friend Alice, and the Spook must flee to Ireland. The dark rages strongly there. No one can be trusted. Can Tom defeat the creatures that hunt him most fiercely?

The heavily illustrated stand-alone companion book to the internationally best-selling Last Apprentice series, the series that inspired the forthcoming major motion picture Seventh Son. The Spook's Bestiary is your guidebook to the supernatural, terrifying creatures of the dark: Learn what to do if you must face a boggart, a witch, a dark mage, or even the Fiend himself.

Fill your pockets with salt and iron. Carry a rowan staff and a silver chain. And most importantly, clear your mind and conquer your own fear. Here is the Spook's own notebook, full of the instructions that any young apprentice, like Tom Ward, will need. Learn how to bind a boggart. Find out how to capture a witch. Memorize what to do if you face the Fiend himself. If you are the seventh son of a seventh son—or even if you are simply a fan of The Last Apprentice series—this book holds all you need to face the forces of evil. The Last Apprentice series is soon to be a major motion picture, Seventh Son, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, and Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin. It's a suspenseful thrill ride that's "spine-tingling" (Publishers Weekly) and "anything but tame" (Horn Book). BUT DON'T READ IT AFTER DARK!

"I''m coming for you, and nothing living or dead can stop me."

One witch is the most feared, the most ruthless, and the most deadly of all the witches in the county. If she hunts for you, she will find you. If you have crossed her, you don''t stand a chance. She is the witch assassin, and her name is Grimalkin.

Grimalkin''s one alliance is with Tom Ward, the Spook''s apprentice. With Tom, she plans to rid the world of the most terrifying evil, the Fiend, who once did her great wrong.

For the first time, fans of the Last Apprentice series will hear the story from Grimalkin''s side, as she is hunted herself by creatures of darkness set on revenge.

Grimalkin has never been defeated. But can she survive an enemy created for the sole purpose of destroying her?

Beware a girl in pointy shoes!

A girl wearing pointy shoes might be a witch. And the first thing a spook''s apprentice learns is never, ever to trust a witch.

In this bone-chilling collection of tales, you will learn exactly why that is, as you encounter:

The dark is all around. Who will survive?

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who banishes boggarts and drives away ghosts. But now a new danger is threatening Tom''s world: the witches are rising and the three most powerful clans are uniting in order to conjure an unimaginable evil.

Tom and the Spook set out to stop the witches before they unleash the demon. But when Tom finds himself on his own, he wonders if he has the courage and cunning to defeat the most powerful enemy he has ever encountered.

"You can''t make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being drawn toward the dark."

As the Spook''s apprentice, Thomas Ward''s first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom''s mother has mustered a powerful army—including Tom''s friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin—to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark?

Now it''s the dark''s turn to be afraid

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now there''s some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers. The Bane!

As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn''t their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them—or worse.

Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor''s clutches?